CO129-593-3 Rehabilitation of Hong Kong University. For extracted photographs see CN 3-45 12-1-1946 - 27-10-1946 — Page 45

54147/46.

45 8

24th October, 1946.

"ay I bring to your notice the question of the restablishment of the Hong Kong University?

The details are set out in a memorandum of which, together with the report of the Committee which enquired into this matter, I enclose two copies. The proposition

is, in short, that if the money can be found, the Hong Kong University should be re-established on a larger scale than is required to meet the needs of the Colony, so that it will more worthily represent British scholarship in the Far East and will be able to take a far larger number of students from outside Hong Kong, mainly from China, than it did before the war.

This seems to me to be a very sound scheme and I am persuaded that there is a good case for a substantial contribution from United Kingdom funds towards the cost. If you agree, as I sincerely hope you will, I should be most grateful if you could authorise your people to work out with mine the details of a joint approach to the Treasury for a contribution from United Kingdom funds. The figures which have been tentatively suggested are £500,000 towards the capital expenditure and £30,000 per annum towards the recurrent expenditure.

I apologise for troubling you with this on the eve of your departure for the United States. There is, however, some urgency about this question, and for the reasons in the last paragraph of the memorandum, I felt that it ought not to wait until your return.

(Sgd) A. Creech Jones.

The Rt. Hon. Ernest Bevin, M.P.